“We Will Tell Your Stories”

FREE resources suitable for every school to use around Holocaust Memorial Day.

“We Will Tell Your Stories” marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

 

These resources aim to inspire pupils to create non-fiction historical writing pieces based on the powerful stories from the Holocaust and life after liberation.

My 2025 resources will be available with the support of partners including the Lake District Holocaust Project, UCL Centre for Holocaust Education, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the National Literacy Trust and for the very first time I am working with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

The resources include …

• Monday 27 January 10 am – a virtual event joined by Holocaust survivor Alfred Garwood and child survivor Antoinette Mutabazi will join our live event from 10:00 to 10:45 to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day on Monday 27 January 2025 with the National Literacy Trust and Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.  REGISTER NOW HERE
• A new film recorded at locations including the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
• A new Auschwitz Survivor Story
• A 5 part History Writing Workshop
• A writing challenge
• For Key Stage 2 & 3

The resources will include Jewish, Roma and Sinti and LGBT+ people – victims and survivors of the Nazis between 1939 and 1945.

Please fill in the form below for updates and reminders about these resources for Holocaust Memorial Day 2025.

---

In the meantime, you can read the first chapters of Tom’s award-winning children’s historical fiction, “After the War – from Auschwitz to Ambleside” here https://tompalmer.co.uk/after-the-war/.

And you might also be interested in Tom’s blog for The Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre about his children’s historical fiction, “After the War – from Auschwitz to Ambleside” https://holocaustlearning.org.uk/latest/after-the-war-writing-about-the-holocaust/

Tom’s resources from previous Holocaust Memorial Days are still accessible below including …

• a five part story about the late Michael Novice – a man who survived Auschwitz and went on to work for @NASA and design the camera that showed us man walking on the moon. In memory of an extraordinary man.
• a five part story of a sister and brother reunion after the end of the war.  Of Mala Tribich MBE & the Late Sir Ben Helfgott, reunited after surviving the Nazi concentration camps.

---

Holocaust Memorial Day 2024

Our 2024 resources were available with partners including UCL Centre for Holocaust Education and the National Literacy Trust:

• a webinar with the Historical Association
• a Free 5 part story
• an online Q&A event with Mala Tribich

Wednesday 17 January 2024 CPD Webinar 4-5pm
As author of “After the War – from Auschwitz to Ambleside”, I took part in a webinar with the Historical Association and the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education – “Making the most out of Holocaust Memorial Day: challenges and opportunities”.

Monday 22 -26 January 2024 FREE 5 part story to read aloud
This year’s story to be read in the week prior to Holocaust Memorial Day is the true tale of a sister and brother reunion after the end of the war.  Of Mala Tribich MBE & the Late Sir Ben Helfgott, reunited after surviving the Nazi concentration camps. (Mala was in Sweden and Ben in London.)  The Late Sir Ben Helfgott was one of the inspirations for Tom’s acclaimed “After the War from Auschwitz to Ambleside” about the three hundred child concentration camp survivors who came to the Lake District nearly 75 years ago (known as the Windermere Boys) is available with lots of FREE resources to support it.  (More here www.tompalmer.co.uk/after-the-war/)  

Download the story here or watch Tom reading the story here.

Friday 26 January 2024 – 09:30 to 10:15 online Q&A event
Mala Tribich joined me in a virtual event for schools to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

Catch up now here …

And please share your HMD Activity on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust map here https://www.hmd.org.uk/take-part-in-holocaust-memorial-day/activities-form/

---

Here’s a recap of my resources for Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

Thanks to generous funding support from the Marks Family Charitable Trust, the Association of Jewish Refugees and The Blue Thread, we teamed up with the National Literacy Trust to produce free resources for use in the classroom or at home, to help schools commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

The resources were designed to be used for use with students aged 10 to 14 (Upper Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3) and are available from here literacytrust.org.uk/resources/holocaust-memorial-day/

• A certificate for you to present for student work here

 

 

• My story “Small Steps” written specially for Holocaust Memorial Day.  “Small Steps” is the 5 part read aloud true story (using survivor and family testimonies) about Michael Novice. He is one of the Windermere children – a Holocaust survivor who went on to help build the camera that filmed the first man on the moon here.  

Update from Tom 26 September 2024 “Over the years I have written stories for children based around the lives of some extraordinary people. Today I learned of the passing of the most remarkable. This is Michael Novice. A man who survived Auschwitz and went on to play a part in the moon landings. I worked with @HolocaustLake  and Michael Novice’s family to tell the story of this Holocaust survivor who came to the UK as a refugee and – after studying physics – went on to work for @NASA  and design the camera that showed us man walking on the moon. for the first time. In memory of an extraordinary man. Thank you.”

• My assembly introducing the story and showing you a very special rock from the Moon…

• Watch me read the story here by a model of Apollo 11 …

• A PowerPoint presentation, to introduce the story and resources to students
• Five videos and five worksheets to support and inspire pupils to write their own responses
• A teacher guide with ideas and sources to support your delivery and children’s writing
• A free online Q&A event with me interviewing Mala Tribich, a Holocaust survivor on 27 January 2023 catch up now 

Holocaust Memorial Day 2022 recap

Here is a recap of what we organised in previous years with partners including The National Literacy Trust , The Anne Frank Trust and The Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre :

• “Them” – a NEW FREE 5 part read aloud story written specially for Holocaust Memorial Day 2022 by Tom Palmer – suggested 1 chapter a day that week here
• 5 short films and worksheets to support “Them” story and inspire pupils to write their own responses
• 5 short films of Tom reading out loud “Them” available from here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmmlG7jutI-3APJWgcsvPSQ5k-LbrZ9zE
• A teacher guide with ideas and sources to support your delivery of “Them” and children’s writing
• FREE pre-recorded 10 minute video assembly Year 5-9 presentation from Tom about why it is important to mark Holocaust Memorial Day

• Years 5+6 Anne Frank Trust online Q&A event with Holocaust survivor Harry Olmer in conversation with Tom Palmer.  Catch up now

•  Years 5-9 National Literacy Trust online Q&A event  with Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich in conversation with Tom Palmer.  Catch up now

• “Why testimony should be at the heart of any Holocaust story” a blog for The Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre.  https://holocaustlearning.org.uk/latest/after-the-war-writing-about-the-holocaust/

Holocaust Memorial Day 2021 Recap :

I am extremely grateful for the support of the National Literacy Trust, UCL Centre for Holocaust Education, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Lake District Holocaust Project and other partners to bring these to you.

The FREE resources include :

1. “The Question” a five-part story to read in school  with the National Literacy Trust (available in written format here for you to read aloud / stream / share or as a series of 5 films of Tom reading the story for you to use here ). “The Question” is a five-part read aloud story will be set in the present day about the visit of a Holocaust survivor to a UK school and how the children prepare and reflect on the experience. The survivor will be Yossi, one of the main characters from “After the War”, 75 years on from his liberation, age 91. The story is from the point of view of the pupils and will be aimed at Y5 to Y8. It is not essential to have read “After the War” beforehand (but you can read Chapter 1 of the book for free here  https://www.tompalmer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/After-the-War_chapter-sample.pdf . There is more about it here: https://tompalmer.co.uk/after-the-war/
   

   ---

2. a pre-recorded 20 minute assembly for Y5 to Y8, talking about why we mark Holocaust Memorial Day with the National Literacy Trust (available now here).
   

   ---

3. a series of films about developing writing and worksheets to support and inspire pupils to write their own responses with the National Literacy Trust (available now here).
   

   ---

4. Friday, 29 January 10.30 am
   Facebook live Q&A event with me, hosted by the National Literacy Trust and a chance to hear from a Holocaust survivor who will be joining us. (Register now here.)

   ---

5. a resource pack created around “After the War” by UCL Centre for Holocaust Education. Containing lesson plans and materials for KS3 History, RS, Cit and Eng (available now here ).
   

   ---

6. a CPD session hosted by UCL and myself relating to “After the War” (booking  open now here).
   

   ---

7. an interview with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust about listening to survivor testimonies (available now here and here)
   

   ---

8. Blackout Poetry Challenge includes how to guide, examples, text and certificate, here.
   

   ---

9. More downloadable resources including films of my research, book trailer, glossary and a student workbook are available here www.tompalmer.co.uk/after-the-war

Thank you

I’d like to say a big thank you everyone who has used these resources.  We have been asked for a signed certificate for schools to present to pupils for their Holocaust Memorial Day work.  If you would like to use this one you are very welcome download here.